Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
It was nothing short of carnage and heartache on roadways in Westman this weekend.
As you’ll read in today’s Brandon Sun, vehicles were careening off of highways and rural roads, their drivers and passengers being injured or killed.
And in Brandon, there was the tragic death of a two-year-old boy who police say suddenly ran out from between the parked vehicles on Princess Avenue and was struck by a westbound SUV.
The harbinger of things to come occurred Friday, just before 8:30 a.m., when a line of vehicles had stopped on Highway 10 north of Brandon near Highway 25 in a construction zone, when a southbound SUV failed to stop and crashed into the last car.
As RCMP spokesman Cpl. Miles Hiebert told the Sun, the motorists had been waiting for a pilot vehicle when the collision occurred.
Damage to the vehicles was extensive and each of them had one person inside. Surprisingly — amazingly — no one died as a result of that collision.
RCMP said it was unclear if the driver of the SUV was distracted in some way or whether the driver would face charges.
The situation could have been so much worse, because in so many other collision cases — including those at construction sites — it has been.
Less than two years ago, highway flagger Brittany Lynn Murray, 21, died after she was hit by the driver of a 1996 Chrysler Intrepid in a construction zone on Highway 207, between Highway 15 and the Trans-Canada Highway.
The 69-year-old driver was ordered to stand trial on a charge of dangerous drivers causing death.
Statistics provided by Manitoba Public Insurance from 2010 suggest that 38 per cent of fatal crashes in Manitoba have distracted or careless driving as a contributing factor.
Safety — or rather the lack thereof — along Highway 10 has long been a thorn in the side of Westman residents who are tired of being witness to accident scenes along the busy stretch of road, both south and north of Brandon.
While we can credit the province for finally acting on a promise to improve Highway 10, conditions up and down the highway are still very dangerous, especially now as construction season begins in earnest and Manitobans take to the roads with weekend and vacation plans.
We also note with considerable alarm that several drivers in the local area can still be seen talking or texting on their cellphones while their vehicle is in motion. This is a dangerous and illegal practice and, at $200 per ticket, it’s expensive if you get caught in Manitoba.
The speed limit in a construction zone is 60 km/h along highways and even slower in urban centres like Winnipeg and Brandon.
As they do every year and following every horrific collision, the RCMP has called for motorists to exercise caution around construction zones and watch for both workers and heavy equipment.
“Summer construction season is fully upon us and we can’t stress enough how critical it is to pay extra caution and have extra care when you’re travelling through those construction areas,” Cpl. Hiebert said. “Not only for the motoring public but for all of the people that work in those construction sites.”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we urge all drivers to stay alert and obey the rules of the road to help reduce the number of fatal collisions on our highways. This is not rocket science, just common sense.
While modern society rewards those who can multi-task, the act of driving itself is multi-tasking and demands the driver’s full and undivided attention.
We’re shocked that people still drink and drive and simply shake our heads at the morons who insist on putting their own lives and those of others in danger because they insist on using their cellphones while driving.
What kind of phone call or text can be that important?
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 25, 2012
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It was nothing short of carnage and heartache on roadways in Westman this weekend.
As you’ll read in today’s Brandon Sun, vehicles were careening off of highways and rural roads, their drivers and passengers being injured or killed.
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It was nothing short of carnage and heartache on roadways in Westman this weekend.
As you’ll read in today’s Brandon Sun, vehicles were careening off of highways and rural roads, their drivers and passengers being injured or killed.
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Posted by:bill Morningstar
June 27, 2012 at 10:44 PM
It would be wonderful to see any kind of construction on 21 hwy. south of Deloraine. Holes just get bigger and the caution signs are hidden by the tall grass.
Bill Morningstar